The motorcade of the President of the Chechen Republic, Hero of Russia Ramzan Kadyrov (found the video via _unn)
It consists of the following vehicles (in order of travel): - a BMW 5 Series - a BMW 5 Series - a Porsche Cayenne - a Porsche Cayenne - a Porsche Cayenne - a Mercedes S-Class - a Mercedes S-Class - a Porsche Cayenne - a Porsche Cayenne - a Porsche Cayenne - a Porsche Cayenne - a Porsche Cayenne - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - a Porsche Cayenne - a Lexus 470 (or a 100-series Land Cruiser) - around thirty more cars, about half of them "tens" (VAZ-2110 sedans), and the other half a mixed bag of BMW 5 Series cars, Mercedes G-Class SUVs, a couple of Volgas (GAZ sedans), and so on. It is hard to calculate the value of the motorcade. Especially considering that the Cayenne, for example, is the most frequently stolen among expensive cars. As is well known, they are mostly taken to the Caucasus. It is entirely possible that some of them are for the needs of the Hero of Russia as well. But what is interesting is something else. The budget of the Chechen Republic is 98% subsidized by the federal budget. For example, since the beginning of this year: A total of 4,914,333,778 rubles has been received into the unified account of the republican budget of the Chechen Republic since the beginning of the current year, of which 4,431,466,737 were gratuitous transfers from the federal budget of the Russian Federation, and 482,867,041 were tax revenues and other non-tax revenues. The funds have been allocated to finance expenditures provided for in the Chechen Republic’s 2008 budget expenditure schedule. http://www.minfinchr.ru/ That is, gratuitous transfers since the beginning of this year account for 90% of the budget. This miracle motorcade was bought and is maintained with our money. Let’s be realistic. The president of a federal subject cannot drive around in a Zhiguli (a Soviet/Russian mass-market car), and yes, Kadyrov needs security. Yes, he needs an expensive car, because otherwise he will not command respect among the local population, for whom a ruler without the red ribbon, the little mirror, and the beads — that is, without a Lexus and a Hero’s star — is a complete loser, deserving of nothing but contempt. But still, a motorcade of more than fifty cars, ten of them Cayennes, is too much. Observing Chechen folk traditions and customs is turning out to be far too expensive for the rest of Russia’s citizens.